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По умолчанию ReviewTheLight: TaoTronics ThorLite TT-TF02

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TaoTronics has been making consumer electronics for a while, but just recently entered the flashlight scene. If their ThorLite series look familiar, there's a very good reason for that--they have informed me that they are now the "exclusive global agent" of Balder (perhaps the mythological god theme is not a coincidence). Many of you may remember the Balder lights for their distinctive style, favoring a blend of black and silver coloring with interesting patterns. In the past, I reviewed Balder's BD-4, which seems to correspond to the new TT-TF03, a 2x18650 thrower. This review is for the next size down, the single 18650 pocket light, TT-TF02.


Thanks to TaoTronics for providing the TT-TF02 for review.


I’ll be reviewing the TT-TF02 in two sections: first, I’ll discuss the light objectively (the facts about the light itself), then I’ll discuss the light subjectively (my impressions about the light's performance when used for specific applications). If you have any other specific applications you'd like the light tested for, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

3-Minute Overview

Below is a video "quick review" you can watch in just a few minutes, if you're not up for reading the full review right now:



Прямая ссылка на видео YouTube


This video is available in 720p HD, but defaults to a lower quality. To select the playback quality click the settings button (looks like a gear) after you've started the video.


Objective

Manufacturer's Specifications

Price: $45 USD




Packaging




The TF02 comes packaged in a plastic-sealed sliding box with the TaoTronics logo printed on the top.

Construction


The TF02 runs off of a single 18650 lithium ion battery, or two CR123 lithium batteries.




An XM-L T6 emitter is centered in an orange-peel textured reflector. This reflector is a bit deep for it's size, which grants a decent amount of throw to a small package, but is still overall fairly floody. The head of the light is capped by a stainless steel bezel to prevent damage from impacts, and the neck has some interesting detailing in silver and black colored anodizing, that seems mostly for style.



The body of the light is plain expect for the TaoTronics logo on one of the flat sections, and is otherwise covered in grooves to add grip to the body.



The tail has four crenelations that extend beyond the rubber switch cover, so the light can do a stable tail stand.

Now, let's open it up!



The TF02 comes apart into three pieces: head, body, and tail.



Inside the head and tail, a spring-loaded piston makes contact with the positive and negative battery terminals, so this light will accept both botton-top and flat-top cells just fine, and a good range of sizes. The threads to the head are non-anodized while the threads to the tail are anodized, so slightly loosening the tail cap will activate a mechanical lockout to prevent the light from turning on when not in use.


Dimensions




Accessories



My review sample included a holster, spare o-rings and switch cover, lanyard with lobster claw and mini keyring, and manual.


User Interface

The TF02 is operated by half presses or full presses to the rear tail cap switch. It has three regular modes (High, Medium, and Low) and three "hidden" modes (Strobe, Alarm, and SOS). The light also memorizes the last mode you used, including the flashy modes.

A half press to the switch will momentarily activate the last mode you used, and it will turn off when you release the button. A full press will turn on the last mode you used, and it will remain on until another press of the button turns it off.

To switch the mode, you turn the light off then back on again quickly and it will advance to the next mode in the sequence. The TF02 has two sequences, the regular and the hidden. The regular sequence is High->Medium->Low. The hidden sequence is High->Medium->Low->Strobe->Alarm->SOS. (Alarm mode is the light alternating between strobe for about a second and off for a second)

To switch between the regular and hidden sequences, go to low mode and leave the light there for about five seconds. After five seconds in low mode, quickly turn the light off then back on. The light will now be in the other sequence. Follow the same procedure to switch back.

Action Shots

You can click on any of these shots to see them full size.

Light in Hand



White Wall (Low, Medium, High, Turbo)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 1/20"


BeamSlice


MugShot


Indoor Shots (Low, Medium, High)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 1"


Outdoor Shots (
Low, Medium, High)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 2.5"


Long-Range Shots (
High)
ISO 100, f/3.3, 5"



Performance

Submersion: I submersed the TF02 in about a foot of water for an hour, turning the light on and off a few times. I can find no evidence of water damaging or entering the light.

Heat: Running on High, the TF02 never felt hot to my hand.

PWM: I do not believe the TF02 uses pulse width modulation. I viewed the light through my camera set to an exposure of 1/4000" (or 4000 Hz), which is usually enough to make PWM plainly visible. On the High and Medium mode I could detect no PWM whatsoever. On the Low mode, there might have been a hint of what might be PWM, but it was so slight that I think it more likely to be signal noise. If it was PWM, it was at a frequency significantly higher than 4000 Hz.

Drop: I dropped the TF02 from a height of about a meter onto various surfaces, including grass, carpet, packed dirt, and wood. There was no functional or cosmetic damage to the light.

Reverse Polarity Protection: TaoTronics claims the TF02 has electronic reverse polarity protection, so I put a battery in backwards and tried to turn the light on. Nothing happened. Then, I put the battery in correctly and tried to turn the light on. The light turned on, and shows no damage from having been activated with the battery inserted backwards.

Over-Discharge Protection: TaoTronics claims over-discharge protection for the TF02, so I examined it's behavior at low voltage. At about 3.2V, the light began to pulse as a warning of low voltage (see video below). After that, the light got very dim, and slowly got dimmer. After a day of dimness, I ended the test, and measured the battery voltage to be about 2.5V, so it seems the protection does not turn the light off, but rather decreases current to almost nothing. At that point, it's time to change the battery.

[video=youtube_share;lNYXU8TIYK0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNYXU8TIYK0[/video]
If you listen closely, you might here my wife's TV show in the background... Two points to whoever guesses what show.

Spectral Analysis


All light that we see as white is actually made up of several different colors put together. The relative intensities of the different colors in the mix are what determine the tint of the white we see. For example, cool white LED's have a lot of blue, and warm white LED's have more red or yellow. This measurement was done on a home made spectrometer. The plot below the picture is corrected for the spectral sensitivity of the human eye. Note: the peak in the 900nm region doesn't really exist, it's a piece of the second-order spectrum that's showing up here because of the high intensity of the light source.

Output and Runtime


ANSI FL-1 runtime ratings are the time it takes for a light to fall to 10% of it's original output (counting from 30 seconds after turning the light on).

The vertical axis of the graphs below represents a relative brightness measurement using a home made light box. The horizontal axis is time in hours:minutes:seconds. Runtimes are stated in hours:minutes:seconds. These graphs may be truncated to show detail.

Mode Comparison


High


Medium


Throwing Distance

ANSI FL-1 standard for stating a light's throwing distance is the distance at which the peak beam intensity (usually at the center of the beam) is 0.25 lux. I calculate throwing distance and candela (lux at 1 meter) by measuring peak beam intensity at five different distances and using the formula lux*distance^2=constant.

Peak Beam Intensity: 10595cd
Throw Distance: 206m

Subjective Review

Quick break down:

+ Reasonable output levels
+ NOT THE SAME STYLE AS EVERY OTHER LIGHT
+ Good grip
+ Perfect ending to the runtime graph
+ Reverse polarity protection
+ Most blue light thrown to the spill region, leaving hot spot warm
+ Slim design
+ Candle mode
+ Blinky modes are hidden

- Poor regulation on High
- Not as bright as some competitors
- A few beam imperfections
- Blinky modes could be hidden better
- Needs emitter upgrade

As mentioned at the beginning of the review, TaoTronics is now selling what we used to know of as Balder lights. I didn't review the Balder equivalent to the TT-TF02, which I think was the BD-2, but I did review the Balder BD-4, and the TF02 seems to have the same build quality and style I saw from Balder, so it's easy for me to believe it's the same people making the light, just a different brand on it. I do think it's amusing they named the series ThorLite, as a little throwback to Balder.

So, the number one thing I like about the TF02? It doesn't look the same as every other darn 1x18650 light! Really, it's not that much different, but it's a little different and it's just enough to be refreshing and set the TF02 apart. I'm sure the style around the head does help a bit with heat dissipation into the air because that black shell part has a decent thermal path to the emitter, by really I think it's mostly for looks.

A note on the candle mode-- it's a little hard to get the head on and off due to the styling that comes down around the section housing the emitter, but it does reveal a good heatsink in the head as well. See the picture below, click to make it larger:



Next topic, the output. At 500 lumens, the TF02 isn't exactly the brightest in it's class. I know that with it's size it's not going to be 900 lumens, due to heat issues, but there are similar sized lights that handle more heat alright. I think the real deal is that this light is just going for "reasonable" output levels. With the size of it's reflector, it's not going to be used a lot at long distance due to it's floodiness, so this is more of an indoor or mid-range outdoor light. For the uses it's shaped for, I think levels at 500, 200, and 30 lumens are just what I'd call reasonable. That being said, I do wish they'd upgrade from the XM-L T6 to something a little more modern. An XM-L2 would be great, and even if they kept the same output levels it would be a very respectable increase in efficiency, and therefore run time. That might also open up the possibility of some better regulation of the high mode.

Now, let's talk about the UI. The basic idea is pretty simple and pretty common, and if you've used other modern LED lights it will likely be intuitive (and won't take long to pick up for those who haven't): turn the light off then back on to change the brightness. Now, I personally haven't been able to figure out the driving need of manufacturers to add so many blinky modes. The SOS, Alarm, and Strobe modes may be fun to bother people with once in a while, but I generally don't use them, and I don't think the average user does either. But, some do, so there they are. My opinion is that if it's going to have a strobe mode, I NEVER want it to come on when I'm not expecting it or don't want it. In the TF02, the UI design does a fairly good job of hiding the blinky modes. For the most part, it's hard to get into the hidden sequence without intending to. However, on the off chance you do get in, it's just as hard to get back out if you haven't memorized how, then you're stuck with blinky modes in the sequence. So, while the method used to hide the blinky modes in this UI is very much better than nothing, I see this as room for improvement for TaoTronics in any future lights they offer.

Finally, I'll just touch on the ending of the run time graphs. This is my favorite thing to see: some warning that the voltage is getting low and the battery should be replaced, then a drop to a sort of moonlight mode output that gives off just enough light to find your replacement battery, able to be sustained for long enough to find the battery. This is pretty much what I see on the TF02, and I appreciate it. A runtime graph the holds steady at a level and then just ends abruptly without even dropping in output looks great on an internet forum, but it's actually very frustrating in real life.

So, in conclusion I'll say that I really enjoy using this light, not in small part because it looks great. It's reliable and has reasonable output levels, though it could use an emitter upgrade. It's priced as a good entry-level high-end pocket light, and I'd recommend it for indoor or mid-range outdoor use when you don't need ridiculous amounts of light. :thumbsup:


Long Term Impressions
I'll fill this part in after carrying the light for a while. If nothing get's added here, either I find nothing else worth noting about the light, or I end up not using it often.
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